Smart cooks know that, when there's a heat wave (that would be now, in the Northeast), we ditch the sanctimonious slog of recipes that call for chopping, stirring, stuffing and run like hell for air conditioning and a Tom Collins. Luckily, both go well with ceviche, one of the easiest cook-free meals of all time. Ceviche is traditionally a South American dish made by marinating pieces of fish or shellfish in citrus juice. Essentially, the acid from the juice denatures the proteins just as heat might, giving the seafood a cooked texture and taste—but without any grilling, sautéing or other too-stifling-for-summer activity required. There are no set rules about how long ceviche should marinate before being served. I think anything under 10 to 30 minutes is too short (although I know some chefs serve theirs moments after the acid touches the fish, giving it a more raw texture and taste), and anything longer than five or six hours (though I guess it's possible, though not ideal, to leave a plate overnight) is probably too long.

After all, freshness is mostly the point. 1. Prep the raw fish by trimming it into thin slices or bite-size pieces. (To extract shellfish like lobster, you may find it easier to quickly blanch the whole lobster first. Some cooks will blanch and shock all of their fish for 30 seconds before adding to the dish, but I think par-cooking feels like cheating, and I find the fish takes on a chewier texture.) Since the acid will be cooking the food on contact, smaller pieces will allow the change to happen more quickly. Most fish will work here, but scallops have an especially fresh taste and smooth, slippery texture. 2. Choose your aromatics. Since the acid and salt will take effect on them, too, consider adding ingredients to the dish in the order you might like them to cook—flavors that could afford a little mellowing, such as onions or chili peppers, may do well to hit the citrus pool before, say, leafy herbs that might wilt and discolor. You can garnish with delicate items like these just before serving.

3. Add the citrus. Lemon and lime are the top two choices, since orange and grapefruit tend to be a little less acidic, but combinations can be fun and extra flavorful. You don't really need any fat here, though I prefer to add a splash of canola oil, and sometimes a dash of hot sauce, to give the liquid some body. order sushi online vaughanAdd salt and any seasonings. jiro dreams of sushi creditsI like to make a dressing the way you might a vinaigrette—mix it in separate bowl, taste for seasoning and balance, and apply. ingredientes sushi comprar onlineHow soupy or dry you like it is up to you.sushi conveyor belt illinois

4. Let the dish marinate in the fridge for your desired time, and chill a serving plate to use for later. Watch (and taste) as you go—the flesh will go from gray and translucent to firm, whitish-pink, and opaque. Remove from the fridge and serve with garnishes and something crunchy for texture.sushi cat 1 2 3 4 5 juegos About the author: "Sue Veed" is an editor at a Manhattan-based food magazine and a current culinary student who's trying to learn it all so she can cook it all. japantown sushiShe'll take us along for the ride as she makes the journey from home cook to professional. jiro dreams of sushi london screeningsAmong things she may never master: looking natural in a chef's hat, and acting demure whenever a pork product hits the table.

Sushi—either you love it or you hate it. Either way, you may be mildly sketched out at the idea of eating raw fish, even if it is labeled as "sushi-grade." So what makes raw fish "sushi-grade?" Don't drop your spicy tuna roll just yet, but there's actually no real definition to the phrase, nor regulation surrounding its use in the US. The term "sushi-grade" can be tossed around by restaurants, grocery stores and suppliers in the same way other sexy food words like "natural" and "pure" are. But that also doesn't mean you're inevitably going to get sick. The FDA regulates fish intended to be consumed raw under their "Parasite Destruction Act," meaning your sashimi has been frozen to -20ºC for at least of 7 days, or -35ºC for at least 15 hours to kill any serious bugs. This takes care of any infectious parasites in the fish (phew), but still leaves bacterial contamination as a potential risk to consumers. The best thing you can do is be your own sushi-grader and maintain a "fresher-is-better" mentality when it comes to sushi.

To keep yourself safe, watch sushi or poké preparation carefully to ensure cross contamination does not occur (like using the same cutting boards and knives for all parts of the sushi, not just the fish). When it comes to grocery store sushi, make sure your rolls are kept cold and consumed as soon after preparation as possible. Or, opt for a veggie roll or cooked fish option. Sushi can be a fun, delicious, and healthful way to enjoy a meal. Just be wise about the "sushi-grade" myth and you can poké or sushi-ritto roll your way to happiness all day.There is nothing I hate more than being wrong. That's why I research things to death to make sure that I am not wrong too often. When it does happen though, it's a great learning experience, like the one I just got on freezing fin fish. has just posted on my How to store fish story has inspired me to finally get off my lazy butt and write up my frozen fish experiments. I used to be of the conviction that frozen fish was ALWAYS worse than fresh.

I know, I know -- Whole Foods and many fish cookbooks like to tell you that previously frozen fish can be even fresher than previously frozen fish because it was frozen at the peak of freshness. Just so that I don't have to use the "not previously frozen" terminology (that just takes too long to type), I'll use the word "fresh" to refer to fish that did not undergo the freezing process. The question I'll try to answer is , not whether it's as safe to eat. Why would I care? I can get plenty of excellent fresh fish here in Boston. The problem is that when it comes to eating fish raw, freshness is not the only thing you have to worry about. Depending on the fish, they might pose an extremely small risk (to read all about them, see my posts on parasites, parts 1 and part 2). But if you want to eliminate that risk completely by killing the parasites, the only way to do it is to freeze the fish for at least 7 days. Cooking kills them too, of course, but that doesn't help you much with sushi.

My attitude to raw fish is pretty laid back. But when I teach sushi classes, I want to give my students an extra precaution option. Some people don't want to take a risk of food-born illness, no matter how minuscule. When I am serving fin fish raw, I only use tuna, farm-raised salmon, farm-raised branzino, and farm-raised yellowtail. The only way to get yellowtail in Boston is flash frozen and shipped from Japan so parasites are not an issue for that one at all. The other fish are fresh, but the odds of them having parasites are practically zero, so I just buy them from a reputable market (The New Deal in Cambridge) and eat them. It doesn't kill bacteria, just temporarily stops it's growth, so freezing inferior fish does not make it "safe". I used to think that all fish would be damaged by freezing. Fish is mostly made of water, and water expands during freezing. This tears the flesh of the fish and makes it mushy. To prepare for my sushi class, I froze piece after piece of different fish, and here are my findings -- different fish react to freezing differently.